Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMM

The problem in America is not the 2nd amendment, it is the unhealthy gun culture. The broad interpretation my some of the 2nd amendment doesn't help but overall that both sides can find common ground instead of inflaming the other side. I personally think that some common ground can be found in areas like mental illness, registrations, and stricter regulations. However, the devil would be in the details in such discussions.

Agreed. I brought up gun control because the gun culture in our country is a shining example of those looking to prevent the abuse of freedoms in conflict with those in fear of the abuse of power.

In a country where many citizens do not trust the government, taking away the right to guns is tough to make popular. The whole reason for this amendment was due to the fact that nobody knew for sure how the new government would play out. When the government was formed people feared that they would abuse their power and they should be armed to protect themselves from tyranny.

Living with the freedom of having guns is necessary because if we surrender this right we essentially surrender all power to the government. At the end of the day, the power resides with the side who holds the weapons. They are the ones who have the most influence over all others.

On the other hand making weapons available to citizens has provided numerous examples of the abuse of this freedom (Aurora, Sandy Hook, Columbine, VT) and it is clear more regulation is needed to prevent the weapons from falling in to irresponsible hands.

The balance needs to found between those 2 aspects in order for the problem to be worked out correctly, at least in my opinion.